I know, cardinal sin ... but, winter is on its way meaning the roads are going to be dirtier and so is my car + I'm less likely to go spend hours cleaning the damn thing.

Does anyone have any tips for using supermarket jet wash? Last time I used one (albeit on my crappy Passat I didn't care about) it didn't actually seem to clean the car.

I would save yourself some money and buy yourself a jet wash:

http://www.screwfix.com/p/nilfisk-c120-3-6-120bar-pressure-washer-and-accessory-kit/39228

This is usually on offer for £89.99 so just keep checking for an offer on them.

You are never going to clean a car with a jetwash but you can blast the bulk of the crap and salt off it.

At our fleet depot at work we have a wall mounted high pressure washer for the buses and these and is fed TFR from a massive Autosmart Drum. I occasionally go and wash my van off with these and even with the Traffic Film Remover it doesn't come out clean so i now spray with the TFR and take a sponge with me to wash it off properly (I am a little OCD about cleaning cars!) but the problem with TFR is that it strips any wax!

1/ Don't use the brush

2/ Don't use the brush

3/ Don't use the brush

4/ Don't use the brush ....OK you get the idea by now!

If you are going to use it as a contact-less wash (i.e. NOT using the brush! ) then it will do a reasonable job of cleaning the car, it will however in all likeliness strip off any wax or polish that you have on the car as they tend to use a cheap and powerful TFR (traffic film remover), which is great at removing the dirt, but they tend to be strong enough to remove any protection previously applied to the car as well.

Cheers lads. I might not bother then. I do like to have a decent layer of protection on my cars - I've just bought this one too late in the interview to build it up.

I agree don't use the brush - unless its on the wheels etc.

What's wrong with petrol station jet wash? I find it quite effective - I just wipe it clean and wax it afterwards. Good for cleaning off muck - better than bucket and sponge!

Edited 31 October, 201114 yr by My_Yeti

Can't beat a bucket and sponge :p

We have a brushless / touchless automated car wash near me, it does an OK job but isn't good enough to get stubborn dirt off. It still washes the wheels by touching them though!

If the car is really filthy I use it to take the worst of the dirt off which then makes the bucket and sponge wash back at home much easier!

Personally the standard car washes with brushes make me cringe, I'm not that anal about the quality of my paintwork but I still wouldn't put my car through one.